


Dirt

by kawaiijosephoda



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drunk Sebastian, Gen, Joseph being the number one partner, Past Character Death, Pre-STEM, Vomit Mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2015-10-13
Packaged: 2018-04-26 03:51:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4989187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kawaiijosephoda/pseuds/kawaiijosephoda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Myra left me, Joseph. When I needed her the most, she left me.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dirt

The phone rang...and it rang, and it rang, and it rang. Then there was silence. A pause. Then a voice.

“Sorry, but the voice message box of,” the voice paused, “Detective Sebastian Castellanos, is full at the moment. Please try and call again at a later time. Thank you, and have a great day!” There was a melodic series of beeps, and then the call ended, leaving Joseph alone is the cold empty room once again. 

“Why am I surprised anymore?” He sighed and dropped the phone flippantly onto his grey bed spread. Joseph pushed his black rimmed glasses up onto his forehead and stood there for a couple of moments as he began to rub his temples, thinking. Five minutes passed. One or two more sighs. He grabbed his keys and jacket and then left into the cold winter night.

He parked his car in the alleyway behind the bar where an elderly man sat, trying to find shelter from the cold behind two trash cans. Joseph gave him a blanket from his car before entering the bar from the back door. The noise hit him like a wall. Bad 80’s country music. Like always. He took off his gloves and shoved them in his pocket. 

“Hey Joseph.” The bartender called. Joseph nodded as he approached the aging, haggard, old man.

“I assume you’re here for Seb.” He said as he cleaned a glass with a blackened rag

“Yeah.” He anxiously avoided eye contact as he rubbed his hands together.

“He’s over in the corner. I tried to stop serving him awhile ago but we got a new guy that didn’t know. Drank half the bar before I noticed.”

“It’s fine.” He turned away and scanned the corners until he saw him, slumped over at a booth, facing the wall. His brown trench coat hit the ground and the ends of it were stained with mud. Joseph held his breath as he approached, the horrid stench starting to overwhelm him. He reached out and grabbed his partner’s shoulder gently.

“Sebastian.” He whispered.

“Hmmph.” He stirred a little before seeming to fall back to sleep.

“Sebastian, come, wake up. I’m going to take you home.” Sebastian’s hand flew back and swatted at Joseph like a fly.

“Leave me alone.” He grunted. Joseph pulled him up by the back of his trench coat, revealing the pile of vomit on the table, and even more on his face. He tried not to show any signs of disgust as Sebastian stared back at him angrily. 

“We have work tomorrow.” He said curtly.

“So, I can come in late if I want to. I’m your sergeant, Joseph.” He scoffed before Joseph let go of him, letting his face slam back onto the table, vomit splattering up on onto Joseph’s jacket. He took it off and laid it down onto the seat across from Sebastian before sitting down, a puff of dust coming off from the cushion. Sebastian mumbled to himself quietly, head lying in the vomit.

“What is the date today?” Joseph said in a flat, monotone manner, even though he knew the answer quite well. Seb stopped his nonsensical ramblings and the booth grew eerily silent.

“It’s been exactly 6 months since Myra disappeared, hasn’t it.” Joseph spoke again, obviously evading his gaze from his friend by inspecting a freckle upon his hand. There was a long silence before Sebastian spoke.

“Myra left me, Joseph. When I needed her the most, she left me.” He almost choked on his words. Joseph shook his head and sighed. 

“I just don’t see any reason she would of just-” Sebastian sat up abruptly and slammed his hand on the table, his face blistering red with anger. Joseph jumped and sat back in his seat, startled.

“Stop talking.” He growled. “ Now.” He clenched his fists on the table until his knuckles turned white. Joseph took the warning with caution. It wouldn’t be the first time he had been punched in the face by his partner though.

“I’m sorry.” Joseph replied in a soft mumble. It was silent once again and Joseph watched as Sebastian slowly slumped back down into the pile of his own vomit. They sat in silence, one trying to remember the much happier past, one desperately trying to forget that past.

“If I close out your bar tab for you, would you consider letting me take you home tonight?” Joseph looked at Sebastian and raised his eyebrows. There was a pause before he answered.

“Okay.”

 

Joseph fumbled as he entered the front door, supporting most of Sebastian’s weight onto himself. The apartment was cold and empty. He dragged his partner into the dirty bathroom and turned on the dim, fluorescent lights, causing Sebastian to wake and begin groaning, holding his stomach tightly.

“I’m going to start a bath for you.” Joseph said, patting Seb’s shoulder in an attempt of reassurance. Sebastian didn’t respond. Joseph sat on the edge of the bathtub as he held his pale hand under the water, waiting for it to heat up, and watched Sebastian as he withered on the floor. He observed the new wrinkles that had formed on his tan skin, and the new patches of grey that had formed in his stubble. So much had changed in two years since the ‘accident’.

“You’ve gotten old, Seb.” Joseph said to himself.

“You’re not getting any younger yourself, Joseph.” Sebastian gruffed, and then proceeded to vomit onto the bathroom tile. Joseph looked away, cringing.

“Can you bathe yourself this time?” Seb didn’t answer, and Joseph assumed he had passed out once again. He kneeled down on the floor and began to undress him, leaving him with only his boxers. He threw the stained, dirt-ridden clothes into the laundry basket before he hoisted Sebastian into the warm bath. 

He dug through the bottom of the bathroom cabinet and grabbed a still packaged loofah he assumed was meant for Myra. He decided that Sebastian didn’t have to know that he had used it on him, and began to scrub the layers of dirt and vomit off his skin, which slowly revealed the man hidden underneath. The water soon became brown and Joseph took the shower head down from its mantle and began to rinse Sebastian off as the water started to drain.

Joseph craned his neck to see into the bedroom, searching for the time. There was a clock on the bed stand. It was 5:30 in the morning. Joseph closed his eyes and felt how heavy the sleep was in them. They had work in two and a half hours. Another sleepless night. As he turned his head back he saw a glimpse of a framed picture that sat besides the clock. Myra and Lily. From before the accident. He turned off the water, grabbed a towel, and began drying his friend off.

“What happened to you…” Joseph whispered. He finished drying Sebastian off, and stood up and went to the dresser for a change of clothes. If Joseph was going to dress him today, he was going to look nice, and not like the slob he had been coming into work like. He turned around and entered the bathroom once again, a stack of clothes folded nicely in hand. Sebastian was awake this time, his amber eyes opened only ever so slightly.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Joseph spoke gently, trying to add some pep to his voice, and knelt down next to the bath tub. Sebastian looked at him and his face began to contort before sobbing gently. He had never cried in front of Joseph before. Not even at the funeral. Suddenly, Sebastian lurched out of the tub and grabbed Joseph, hugging him tightly. His whole body was shaking violently and Joseph felt the warm tears run down his back.

“Please…” He was sobbing heavily now. “Joseph, I need help. I really really need your help this time.” Joseph hugged him back tightly with all his strength. 

“I’ll do my best.”

They sat there in the cold bathroom as the sun began to rise and the city awoke, not that any of the truly matter.


End file.
